Gigi is knitting Sam a beanie out of Claudia's Handpaints
worsted (Sharks colorway). She is also knitting a sock in Meilenweit
Jacquard (vanilla sock pattern) in with different shades of blue
stripes, with Cat Bordhi's star toe.

Jasmin is working on the second vintage Lisa Souza
sock (in The Sea). She is SO CLOSE to finishing test knitting a sweater
for Sandi (from Purlescence). It is knit in Manos silk/wool, in a
lovely olive green.

The Knitmore Girls advise against knitting yourself into hand pain.
It's not worth it, and it's bad for you. If you develop hand pain,
please see a physician.

We'll be running our "Do some good" contest through January 1st. Give
of yourselves either on a global level, or a local level and send us an
e-mail about it. (If you give to Doctors Without Borders, please CC us on the email you send to Stephanie.) We have THREE signed copies of Free-Range Knitter.

We will be airing our chat with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka, The Yarn Harlot) in Episode 28, airing on 11/23/2008.

Announcements:

The Yarn Thing/Knaked Knits KAL-CAL deadline has been extended to Thanksgiving (November 27th).

Mother Knows Best:

Cast on a few "brainless" knitting projects for on-the-go knitting.
(During the holidays "high bandwidth" projects seem to fall by the
wayside.)

When Knitting Attacks:

Gigi recommends reading your notes. Carefully. She also recommends
following directions carefully when you're executing a new technique
for the first time.

Review:

Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard.
This is a fabulous book. (DO NOT let anyone make a duct tape dummy of
you. You've been warned.) We love it. Do yourself a favor, get your
hands on a copy.

(Apologies for the squeaking in the background, Elphie decided this
segment was a great time to play with her squeaky toys, and chase her
tail, and we were hoping that the mics wouldn't pick it up. Niki, on
the other hand, was very quiet.)

[As an aside, the awesome hair stuff Jasmin uses is "DevaCurl". They also have a line for people with straight hair called "DevaCare", but we haven't used that one.]

[Sorry, no links for the "Green Shruggy Thing". I'll look in my
magazine stash and see if I can dig up the name and a picture of it in
Ravelry.]

We have winners! (Names are not posted on show notes, but are in the podcast. Winners have been e-mailed.)

The "Do some good" contest!

We have 3 signed copies of "Free Range Knitter" by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Stephanie has done loads of fundraising for Doctors Without Borders. So, we're asking you to donate to Doctors Without Borders (please CC us on the e-mail you send to Stephanie), knit for charity, give canned food to your local food donation location. (We give to Second Harvest Food Bank.)

Jasmin's yarn refuses to cooperate, despite having been perfectly well-behaved while it was being wound.

Mother Knows Best:

Gigi found a gem on the German knitting board on Ravelry - putting the information of the socks that you're working on an index card, and wrap a yard of leftover yarn around it for any future darning. Jasmin has firm plastic holders from the Japanese Stationary store that help maintain the integrity of the index card. (You can get these at Maido or Kinokuniya.)

We talk about taking on too much holiday knitting, baking, and sewing.

Mother Knows Best:

Only knit for people who desperately
beg for knitted gifts. If people don't beg, they won't appreciate it.
(The cashmere socks were the Whitby socks from Knitting on the Road, and Jasmin used the charcoal grey Grignasco cashmere.) This year, Gigi is knitting a Sharks hat for Sam (the Knitmore Boy) out of the Claudia's Handpaint worsted in "Sharks".

Instead of giving kids knitted gifts, give them the gift of time, or books!

Announcement:

NaNoSweMo
- National Sweater Knitting Month. Now is a great time to knit a first
sweater, and Jasmin recommends starting with a baby sweater.NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month

If you're a US listener (who is eligible to vote) go and vote on Tuesday!

We're taking on official sponsorship. Promote your patterns or your Etsy shop! Send us an e-mail for details.